Malnutrition and health in developing countries

Abstract

MALNUTRITION, WITH ITS 2 CONSTITUENTS of protein–energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, continues to be a major health burden in developing countries. It is globally the most important risk factor for illness and death, with hundreds of millions of pregnant women and young children particularly affected. Apart from marasmus and kwashiorkor (the 2 forms of protein– energy malnutrition), deficiencies in iron, iodine, vitamin A and zinc are the main manifestations of malnutrition in developing countries. In these communities, a high prevalence of poor diet and infectious disease regularly unites into a vicious circle. Although treatment protocols for severe malnutrition have in recent years become more efficient, most patients (especially in rural areas) have little or no access to formal health services and are never seen in such settings. Interventions to prevent protein– energy malnutrition range from promoting breast-feeding to food supplementation schemes, whereas micronutrient deficiencies would best be addressed through food-based strategies such as dietary diversification through home gardens and small livestock. The fortification of salt with iodine has been a global success story, but other micronutrient supplementation schemes have yet to reach vulnerable populations sufficiently. To be effective, all such interventions require accompanying nutrition-education campaigns and health interventions. To achieve the hunger- and malnutrition-related Millennium Development Goals, we need to address poverty, which is clearly associated with the insecure supply of food and nutrition

Modelos experimentais de desnutrição e sua influência no trofismo cutâneo

“…In agree ment with reports publis hed in the lite ra tu re, the expe ri men tal induc tion of maras mus in rats was con fir med by their weight and by the cli ni cal signs pre sen ted by the ani mals. 2,6,8,11,12 With res pect to serum albu min levels, the results were simi lar in the well-nou ris hed and mal nou ris hed groups after 60 days of fol low-up, pos sibly due to the slow, bela ted reduc tion in albu min levels in maras mus. 2,6 Similar results were found with the gela tin model in which a diet con tai ning low qua lity pro tein was used.…”

“…7 It is highly pre va lent in deve lo ping countries and is gene rally asso cia ted with socioe co no mic and edu ca tio nal pro blems as well as with issues related to health and basic sani ta tion. 8 Extreme cases of nutri tio nal imba lan ce such as hun ger and mal nu trition indu ce a series of bio che mi cal and orga nic changes in the indi vi dual such as pro tein, car bohy dra te and lipid meta bo lism disor ders, lea ding to a state of mal nu tri tion either as the result of poor diet or induced by situa tions of stress that alter the pro tein require ments of indi vi duals and what they need to com pose amino acids. 9 Proteins are macro mo le cu les that are important to the body, since, in addi tion to their struc tu ral func tions, they act as bio lo gi cal cataly zers and hor mones, and also par ti ci pa te in the immu ne system, regula te cell deve lop ment and par ti ci pa te in the trans port of various subs tan ces.…”

“…Serum albu min levels remain prac ti cally unchan ged, with decrea ses only being detec ted at a later stage. 4,[6][7][8]12 In addi tion to this type of mal nu tri tion, ano ther type may be trig ge red when the die tary inta ke of speci fic nutrients such as pro tein is insuf fi cient or when inta ke is based on poor qua lity pro tein such as gelatin. Gelatin is a dena tu red col la gen, the amino acid com po si tion of which con sists of a high con cen tra tion of glyci ne, pro li ne and hydroxy pro li ne asso cia ted with a low or negli gi ble con cen tra tion of tyro si ne, trypto pha ne, iso leu ci ne, cysti ne and his ti di ne.…”

Vitamin A deficiency and other factors associated with severe tuberculosis in Timor and Rote Islands, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

“…It increases susceptibility to and severity of an infection (Muller and Krawinkel, 2005) and tuberculosis (TB) is a prominent example (Cegielski and McMurray, 2004). Malnutrition as reflected by a low body mass index (BMI) is common among TB patients (Metcalfe, 2005) and it increases mortality from TB (Zachariah et al, 2002).…”

Policy determinants affecting the hunger millennium development goal

“…Models that consider social context establish three levels: immediate factors (energy intake and health); underlying factors (food security, maternal care and environmental services); and basic factors (in hierarchical order, Gross Domestic Product, economic structure, political and social factors) (Fernandez, Himes, & de Onis, 2002;Jonsson, 1995;UNICEF, 1990;Wiesmann, 2006). The most frequently studied basic Undernourished determining factors include geographical distribution of population (Mü ller & Krawinkel, 2005), income inequalities (Friel , Walsh, & McCarthy, 2006), poverty (Nandy, Irving, Gordon, Subramanian, & Smith, 2005) and macroeconomic variables, mainly Gross Domestic Product [GDP] (Darnton-Hill , Bloem, & Chopra, 2006;Frongillo, de Onis, & Hanson, 1997;Fay, 2005).…”